Our Story
by nighteyes99
Summary: 'This may come as a shock to you, seeing as I am a spirit but, I am Maria Merryweather, your ancestor from long ago. I am the same as you, as is my story which ended on a similar note, but there is still time to change to change your fate, if you listen to me. I am here to tell you about my life, to give you hope that even in the darkest hour, light can be found.'
1. Prologue

**Hi everyone, this is my first fanfic (I usually just write random stories)so the first few chapters may be horrendous, but bear with me!This is more of a intro/prologue thingy so if you want a first chapter you have to R&R :). I may not be able to update as much as usual because of GSCE's (urggghhhh) but I'll try my best! **

**-Night Eyes **

'_You shall be reunited with your own blood and flesh on this night. Tell her your story and help her change hers, for new chapters are to be written and happy endings yet to be found.'_

She stood there, boots scrabbling at the edge, deciding on whether to take that last backward step. She wanted to fall backwards, for it to be some act of beauty, staring up at the moon in her final moments, gazing at the stars from her lifeless eyes, to sink under the waves with her final feeling being serenity. She once had a strong instinct to protect herself, which had faded over the last few years, but it finally surfaced at the back of her mind, bringing up fear. She edged closer to the drop as if daring it to try and stop her. She turned around, her fiery hair now blowing in the sea breeze, waiting for the moon to rise fully, for she felt oddly dramatic tonight, as if to make a point when she was found. Twenty minutes later, the moon was full, and its beauty took Maria's breath. She had picked the perfect night. She still felt afraid, but she didn't know why as she had nothing to lose except her life.

_One last breath._ _You have nothing left to lose. You have nothing…You...You are nothing… Just jump._

I watched her, as she prepared herself in her final moments, until she finally plummeted, her face a picture of complete calm, falling backwards, falling backwards as if with all the time in the world, until she hit the water. Time, it seemed, was flexible in many floated; the sea unsure of whether or not to accept her, to let her in. Life returned to her eyes and she let out small gasps of pain, her auburn hair flowing around her like blood seeping out of invisible wounds. All the damage was done on the inside, where it was hard to heal once broken. I felt myself remembering, distorted memories of another life, the life of the broken girl before me. I shivered, knowing now what the words meant that the moon had spoken. I lay beside her in the waves, holding her hand for I knew that _I, a mere spirit, _was too late to save her, remembering the moon's commands.

'_This may come as a shock to you, seeing as I am a spirit but, I am Maria Merryweather, your ancestor from long ago. I am the same as you, as is my story which ended on a similar note, but there is still time to change to change your fate, if you listen to me. I am here to tell you about my life, to give you hope that even in the darkest hour, light can be found. To help find your happy ending.'_


	2. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone,so if you hadn't gathered, I'm not always going to be sticking to the original plot, so I will change a few bits here and there, but I don't own the characters and plot. thanks!**

_'Let us start at the the very beginning, for that is where all interesting stories are found.'_

Miss Heliotrope squeezed my hand tightly, mistaking my blank expression for internal grief, simply staying strong in my father's memory. But as I looked at the slab of stone that stated my father's death, I felt nothing.

After he started gambling,we grew slowly more distant, until he forgot he had a daughter in his drunken mind and was a stranger to me. He would come in at late times on cold nights, a helpless drunk with vomit down his undershirt,who had gambled away his coat or anything else of value on him. He aged twenty years on nights when he lost, army haircut gradually growing longer,grey stubble unshaved and puffy black bags under his eyes. But on rare nights when he won, he would rush in, come running towards me to show me the night's winnings, as if my approval of it mattered to him in his mindless state. Sometimes, when he won, he would come back even later when he thought i was asleep, with a woman and head upstairs, so I wouldn't know,wouldn't be hurt. Miss Heliotrope had caught him at it more than once and there were always a raging argument to be had in the morning, where I would wait at the top of the staircase until it stopped, and there would be polite small talk or stiff silence until she forgave him.

I was stirred from my reliving of memories when the priest asked for any last words. It would be inappropriate to speak ill of the dead, so I felt there was nothing much I could say about the stranger lying in the coffin before me. I simply threw a rose onto the coffin and waited for the service to end as everyone else sniffed and said their goodbyes. Miss Heliotrope said a wonderful speech about his good qualities, though only the closest people to him would realize that she had lied several times throughout this speech as she was running out of things to say and did not want to speak I'll of the dead either. It was a valiant attempt, but my father didn't have many good qualities left.

It was then in the middle of a hymn that I noticed a figure standing in the stone pavilion nearby. It was a young man clad in black,with a red scarf and a feather collar standing out from the otherwise monochrome outfit. What drew my attention was that he wore a bowler hat atop the brown curls that spilled out from underneath. Oddly, he had a sort of bandana that only covered his nose, so that I could see a mischievous grin forming. His eyes held a secret sort of silent laughter, the type that you rarely see in people,with the sparkle that gives the viewer the urge to know what joke made him laugh when you gaze upon them. He winked at me, his smile widening.

Blushing, I turned back to clear my head for a second, to see if I was imagining him, but when I turned back to look, he had disappeared. But I was so sure that someone had been there. My curiosity kicked in and soon i was driving myself insane with all the what ifs buzzing around in my I was at a funeral, I tried to conceal my curiousness.

The service ended,thankfully, as people had started to notice that my expression of curiosity didn't fit with the sea of saddened faces gathered around the grave. After everyone had left, I asked Miss Heliotrope for a few minutes and she obliged, heading off for a short stroll. I visited my mother's grave, gently placing the other rose down near the stone headstone. I had saved the rose that was in full bloom for my mother and had given my father the one that had begun to die,petals turning brown and crunchy. I silently said my prayers for her and stood there for a few minutes, thinking of her,saying goodbye before I left London for good.

I then went to investigate the stone pavilion, which I found empty,except for a rose whose petals faded from dark maroon to black on the edges. It had a dark piece of material tied around it in a bow, not dissimilar to the half bandana the young man wore. Hoping that it had by left by the mysterious boy to prove that he was not a figment of my imagination, I picked it up, fastening the material in my hair like a ribbon and holding the rose carefully for it was of the variety with thorns. I started away from the pavilion, my head not on the funeral anymore, but the mystery of the young man and how I longed to solve it.


	3. Chapter 2

I know this chapter won't be as good because I'm really tired after school. I really would appreciate it if people would review(no,not you Princess Aleksandra, Slotherman and Tazza Dazza,but I love you all anyway!) because I have a lot of homework and if I'm going to continue, I might need some encouragement. I will keep on updating regularly for now and thank you Mckenzie for your review, I really really appreciate it :D.

After looking over my father's last will and testament,I received the only item that he had hadn't lost. It was a book, and as he hadn't valued reading for leisure very highly and probably hadn't used it as a wager as he thought it worthless; but to me, it was priceless. Reading was my escape from the real world and after losing everything, my last gift from my father, even though he didn't mean to be, made me have slight faith in him again. I held it tight to my chest on the carriage ride home,a few good memories of my father creeping in. The reality of the situation sunk in and a silent tear rolled down my face, recollecting times when my mother was alive, my father happy and we were a family. I was very young but I can still recall my mother and father listening to me play the piano, dancing around the room and taking turns to play duets with me. I cannot quite remember my mother but I can imagine her sometimes, as being the most perfect mother in the after she died, my father was never the same, so she must have been the most perfect wife too.

Miss Heliotrope peeled the book away from my chest, bringing me out of my recollection. Today had definitely been a day for reflection.

'Maria,look at the state of your dress!The dust from the book has ruined it!'

I rolled my eyes, brushed the front of my dress off and showed her that it was easily removable,to which she simply changed the subject.

'Maria,my dear,look at the title of your book. It's called "The Chronicles of Moonacre Valley". That is where your uncle resides, and where we will be staying until further notice. I do wonder if this is a history of Moonacre and you can impress you uncle by reading it...'

Miss Heliotrope wittered on, as I slowly faded her voice out. I usually thought she was a dear, but today my patience was limited and I was starting to find her a little annoying. I instead concentrated on the mysterious boy and thought about it some more, occupying my thoughts until we reached the house. I informed Miss Heliotrope that I would be packing for the next hour so I would not be disturbed. I think she understood that i needed some time to gather my thoughts and to of course, actually pack my remaining belongings. She headed up to her room, which meant I was able to run up to my room without a telling off. I walked into my room, hugging my book absently-mindedly, thinking about the adventure of moving to Moonacre and what sort of a person my uncle was.

I set my book down, noticing there was a few flecks of mud on the floor. The maids must not be bothering to clean properly anymore as we're leaving, I thought to myself as I wondered, for I would usually be curious. I went to place the Chronicles of Moonacre Valley on my bookshelf for now until I could pack it, I saw that everything had been moved slightly as if looked through. I became suspicious now, for the maids knew that I told them off if they looked though my things. My brain was slow on the uptake after a rough day, so it took me a lot longer than usual to realize what an idiot I was. A stranger had been in my room. Perhaps they were still here. I wasn't sure that a candle holder was the best weapon or that I was strong enough to knock my attacker out, but I was fast so I had some advantage. I checked underneath the bed, in the wardrobe, behind the door and any other hiding places I could think of, until I was sure they were no longer still here. As I went to alert Miss Heliotrope to what I thought had happened, I heard a snicker from outside the open window. I rushed to the window in time to see a figure run across the rooftops into the night,laughing to themselves. When they came to a roof edge, they jumped athletically and disappeared. On my windowsill,sat a black rose.

So this was his calling card.


	4. Chapter 3

**So this chapter is a bit shorter and weirder, but anyway enjoy!**

I said my goodbyes to the staff as i waited for Miss Heliotrope. They all performed their jobs perfectly,but were cold and formal apart from my personal maid Sophia. She was only a few years older than me and like the sister I never had. I hugged her quickly, whispered something in her ear and she nodded.

Miss Heliotrope then came bustling out the house,ignoring the staff and shouting orders to the carriage driver. If you could call that a carriage. It was more like a wagon compared to the fast,plushy London Barouches, and I was not looking forward to the five hours of traveling ahead. I shouted in an unladylike fashion to Sophia 'Thank you for everything and remember the signal!'. Miss Heliotrope looked at me,puzzled, but then remembered that she had to take a charcoal tablet before we set off and went about searching through her bag to find them.

_I was walking through a forest, when I came to a clearing which I started walking through, until I realized that it became a never-ending meadow. I lay down underneath a lone oak tree and fell asleep, only to wake up to someone singing softly. It was the mysterious young man, but he didn't have his half- bandana on and his bowler hat was pulled low over his eyes like he was about to go to sleep. 'Robin!' I cried out to him, although I do not know how I knew his name, and he looked up at me. Offering me a hand to hold, he told me about the De Noirs and gave a derogatory description of them. When I asked him 'But Robin, aren't you a De Noir yourself?',he took off his hat and ran a hand through his unruly hair. 'Yes, I am, my dear, but you should not know' he finally replied, pulling out a dagger and pressing it to my throat. The last image I saw was his face, filled with hatred._

I awoke with a gasp.

Four hours later, we reached a gate and the carriage driver, whose name i had learned, was Digweed. He strolled up to the gate, whistling, and was searching for the key for the gate in his pockets. I leaned out of the stationary carriage and looked at the beautiful surroundings. After about five minutes of admiring the view, I noticed Digweed had been gone a long time and was about to sit down for I thought we would be moving soon again, when one hand grabbed my wrist and another covered my mouth so I couldn't scream.

I reached up and scratched him with the needle in my other hand, to which he fell backwards off the roof as the carriage jerked forwards. His hat fell off and I saw the same heartbreaking face of sorrow and regret. It was Robin. I felt a blush rise to my cheeks and quickly looked away, as I felt guilty now, even though he had been trying to kidnap me. Miss Heliotrope had struck the other bandit in the chest several times and he had fallen out of the open carriage door with a grunt. We moved forward again and Digweed pulled a chain as we went past, closing the gate.  
>Robin watched in despair as we sped into the distance. He pressed his face through the gate and let a madman's scream escape. It was the sort of scream that haunts you at night, when can't sleep and feel as if there was no light in the world.<p> 


	5. Chapter 4

**I got writer's block TT-TT! Though I finally got one of my best friends obsessed with the secret of moonacre so I'm writing a short Robin POV Chapter to celebrate! I know that it doesn't quite fit as Maria's ghost is telling the story to the current Maria, not Robin, but I thought,'Hell, it's going to get boring for readers if they keep on reading Maria's POV.' I still haven't mastered speech in fanfics, so bear with me. you may have noticed, I'm a bit of a lazy writer sometimes and today I'm tired so we'll be skipping some events, i.e. we will only be covering robin and maria meetings or thoughts of each other as my homework load is making me want to jump off a cliff myself. And I'm making Robin slightly less eloquent than Maria so if I forget to name the POV you can tell who it is + it feels right when I'm writing. This chapter isn't great, but it's something, right?thank you barrelrider for the review and thank you to darkangelluna for your support!:)**

**- Night Eyes**

Current Day ( Ghost Maria's POV)

She lay there,listening, her eyes closed, occasionally flickering open as if she had not given up yet.

There was a new light in her eyes, as if she had the will to change her fate, some of her strength revived. She whispered that I had felt the same as her in London, towards the end, she could tell, even though I hadn't voiced every emotion as it was too painful to was in unbearable pain. I could tell by the way she tried to hide it,so she could listen, occasionally letting out a soft moan when it was too much, the way her voice broke in usual places, the way her grip would tighten like she wanted to scream from the pain but she held it in, ever silent. She didn't have much time left, so I couldn't help her unless I skipped some of the less important parts.

She was drifting away from me now, I could feel it, so I continued quickly, not wishing to lose her when she had slowly gained hope.

'The last few chapters were about our pain and loneliness, the next few about my rivalries and emotions, for a matter of pride and strength comes in.'

Robin's POV (past)

I was was rebaiting some of my traps on the west side of the forest when I made out the distant noise of trap bells ringing. I raced back, hearing a small animal squealing as if it knew of its fate, ending up in a stew for tonight's feast.

I drew nearer and nearer to the trap. I approached slowly though, as I could feel something was off. I saw her, fiery hair draped over her face, as she tried to undo the complicated woven release at the top. She tucked her hair behind her ears, I could see her innocent face screwed up in concentration.

No. She was a Merryweather. Merryweathers are our rivals, my father had always drilled it into me. Bringing her to my father would mean I would finally be accepted by him, as I would have proved myself worthy to be his son.

So I couldn't gaze at her face and see her innocence and purity,look at the way her autumnal hair flowed, curled around her pale features. How her slight figure might take off with the next large gust of wind.

She was a Merryweather and I was not allowed to think like this. I felt a light flush appear and turned away, composing myself and strolling towards her. I pasted on a smirk and pulled out a knife, examining the blade. I needed to earn my place in the De Noir clan, and this seemed the only way to do it. I stopped. There was an emotion that surfaced in my chest, so saddening that the pain was tangible. I sighed, pushing the unnamed emotion aside for now, and put on a confident swagger.

'One trap, two catches!'


	6. Chapter 5

So sorry, my wifi had been down and I was too busy/ lazy to upload before. This is more of a fluff/ filler chapter( yes, I know, current day maria is dying, but she's going to have to feel better as the story hasn't even got to the bit after the curse, so she'll need to hold on) I'm hoping to get to the bit after the curse by chapter 10 or 15 as that's (hopefully) going to be the best bit. +I noticed my views and reviews have slowed down, so I think I probably need to upload faster, to try and keep it up. Thanks to Joey Tribbiani,Guest and theweightofliving for reviewing, I really appreciate it! The lyrics are not mine, they belong to Brandi Carlile. I'm still not sure on my choice( I was originally thinking about some

mcr). I did actually try to write some for Robin, but I scared myself at night by writing lyrics about a lover calling out while he was in his noose( it was seriously creepy!).

I sat on the window seat,sketching.

My sketchbook was filled with drawings, which people commented on as nice or pretty, but they didn't have the power to take your breath away from the intricacy or immense beauty. I wanted to draw one of those pieces, so when you looked upon it, you felt as though time was slipping away from you in eons, for that would be the amount needed to study it properly.

I had drawn the forest accurately, from what I could see and knew that I had not drawn something breathtaking, as it looked uniform, almost boring from here. I started to add details that weren't there, in an attempt to make the sketch more interesting. I added wrolf, entering the forest line but turning back so we could see the determination on his face. I made it so that it looked like he was half way transforming into a lion. I then drew Periwinkle as a unicorn, with a beautiful flowing mane that looked as though she were moving, even though she were stuck, motionless on the page. She cantered past trees so you could only see parts of her, but from what you could see i had captured the moon's shine perfectly on her flawless, pure coat. I retrieved my colours now, as I'd only used charcoal and chalk, and thought a pop of colour would help. I added in a beautiful night sky with a navy, that faded to a dark purple at the tops of the trees,with small, round chalk dots for stars. I finally etched in a sickle moon to match the one that was rising outside.

It was then that I strained my ears enough to hear a song being carried on a light breeze. I had missed the first part and the singer was on the last few stanzas.

'Maybe we hurt who we love the most,

Maybe it's all we can stand,

Maybe we walk through the world as ghosts,

Break my own heart before you can.'

It was such a beautiful sound, with the singers low, dusky voice suddenly climbing to the high notes, becoming a haunting melody that was filled with so much emotion, that I could feel my heart breaking or weeping or both.

'Maybe we know who the story ends,

Maybe it's not even about us,

We both retreat to opposing sands

And the love lives on without us.'

It became sweeter and sadder, until I couldn't bear it anymore, as I felt the last of my facade shatter. All those feelings of self hatred and being all alone that I had hidden behind a lie came rushing back. It left me sobbing on the floor until the music faded.

I pulled myself together after a while and walked determinedly back to my sketchbook. Something was still missing. From the drawing and me.

I added in a young man singing, leaning up against a tree, and tried to convey through the charcoal lines, how beautiful his song was. The curve of his cheek, the wild curls trying to escape from underneath his bowler hat, his eyes... I slammed that damn sketchbook shut and hurled it against the wall, when I realized I had drawn that oaf.


	7. Chapter 6

**I'M SO SORRY! I GOT SWAMPED WITH COURSEWORK. I am really sorry I haven't updated in like 3 weeks or something. I'm going to start a couple of polls, so please help me with them! I have noticed that my traffic has dropped dramatically after the third chapter so please keep on reading(hopefully) it will get better! Thank you to my new friend darkangelluna for the kind words an support, and to my few readers who will actually read this! Please remember to R&R!**

**-Night Eyes**

Current day

'I'm okay. You don't have to cut so much out of your story. If you do, how can I change my fate,if I don't know all of it?she weakly laughed, almost a silent rasping in the back of her throat now, with her teeth gritted against the pain, a barrier to stop it coming in. If her last wishes were to hear all of it, then she shall.

I went out riding today with my Uncle, after learning this very morn! It came so naturally to me, that my uncle decided it ran in the Merryweather blood. I had felt this emotion many times before, but never so deeply. Pride. I had never been proud of myself before in London, only for other people and things. By the end of our ride, I was cantering in lightseat, clearing the small logs by miles. I realized I had left my uncle behind and went to find him. He was thinking about taking Atlas home now, so I begged him to let me go on a little further. After wheedling a yes out of him, I headed off around the edge of the forest,ignoring his warning.

I wandered in,slowing to a trot, until I found the site where I first properly met the oaf, Robin. I sat there snickering as I remember how he and his friends fled from wrolf, the cowards. A Merryweather wouldn't be so lily-livered, but obviously De Noirs could be.

'What are you snickering about, Princess?'

I heard a voice from up high, so I glanced at the tree tops,looking for a figure among them.

The voice came again, this time poking his cocky face around a tree trunk.

'And by the way, everyone has a view of your undergarments, and I must say, I see why everyone goes on about the London ladies!'

I blushed, feeling light headed as it was the height of immodesty to show one's undergarments!

I picked up a rock in a most unladylike fashion and lobbed it at his face, shouting 'OAF!'

He then appeared in a different tree, as soon as my rock would have hit him,mocking me,

'I wouldn't do that, Princess, I'm only here for a little chat'

I whirled around as he disappeared again, until he appeared in front of me, and pressed me against a nearby tree.

He rested his hand on one of his many daggers, showing it to me.

'I'd like not to ruin this pretty little face of yours, but if you don't cooperate, I have to.'

He whispered,almost seductively, into my ear, leaning over me.

'What did you thieving Merryweathers do with the pearls?'

'We do not have them, you stupid De Noir, YOU took them. Or are your little brains smaller than rumored to be?'

I kept a steady calm voice, covering up the fact that my hands were shaking. I was terrified of him now, as all the laughter had gone out of his eyes and they became stone-like.

'But that cannot be, for we do not have them either. You must be lying, you little bitch, so come along with me, and see if you can tell the truth to my father.'

With that, everything went dark.


	8. Chapter 7

**I'm so sorry! I haven't been writing for ages because of school, but here's a chapter I try and make up for it. I've noticed that I'm doing rubbishy on reviews and views generally , so please R&R! + this is a bit of a weird chapter but I might do a Robin POV so we se just how much he likes Maria. **

I awoke to the sound of water dripping. It came from the barred window up high, and splashed my face with its constant numbing drip. I rolled over to avoid the cold water, my head throbbing in protest from the sudden movement. Feeling the side of my head, I inhaled sharply as I found where I had been hit. Poking it more gently this time, I felt a dried crust of blood and winced from the pain, replaying the moment of impact. A jacket had been placed over me, but it was not my own.

I drifted in and out of hazy dreams and cold reality, remembering and forgetting.

A strange dream surfaced, one so realistic it could be a memory. I saw him as he lifted me gently onto his horse, so carefully as if I was made of delicate china. After he propped me up on the horse's neck, he swung himself up behind me, landing carefully to stop me from slipping, and pick up the reins in one hand whilst wrapping the other arm around my waist. We cantered through the forest, with me babbling due to my head injury.

I said many nonsensical things, some of which I am ashamed of, throughout the ride, which only resulted in him apologizing for putting me in this state, and he began to worry that he had caused permanent brain damage after I started giggling and trying to describe the way his eyes looked when he smiled.

After reaching the castle, he carried me on his back to the dungeons, stopping only once to talk to someone. I fell asleep on the long descent to the cells, waking wen he placed me on the stone floor. He quickly shrugged off his jacket and placed like a blanket so I retained some warmth. He sat with me for a bit, my head resting upon his knee, and he started to talk to me.

'I'm so sorry. I couldn't go against his will. I'm so so sorry.' His voice cracked and I felt a warm, wet drop on my cheek. He was crying? Because of me?

Footsteps echoed in the entrance vault, as the guard rotation changed.

He looked up and swore quietly.

'I'm truly sorry' he gently lifted my head off his lap, placing me on the floor and getting up to greet the guard. He paused at the door, turning back. Leaning down, he placed a kiss lighter than moths wings on my forehead and left, leaving the cell door unlocked.

I touched my forehead. That wasn't a dream.


End file.
